Marine (working title)

Director KIM Il-rhan | Producer JO Sona | Korea | 90min | 4K | Color

Project Description

Budget

Logline

"I don't feel like I'm the only one in this world"-A full-fledged love story about Su, an non-surgical transgender woman and researcher, discovering love for herself, and for others through her journey to find transgender women in Korea in the 1980s and 90s.

Synopsis

Su, a non-surgical trans lesbian, has lived by thinking that she doesn't belong anywhere in society. It is difficult for her to live in Korean society where people don't recognize non-surgical transwomen as "real women". As life in Korea got harder, she chose to study in the U.S. and has been living in the U.S. for years. She begins to look for stories of people like her. One day, she was intrigued by the stories of transgender women in Korea in the 70s and 80s.

Director's Statement

In Korean society, trans people are treated only as heterosexuals. It is not easy to imagine a trans lesbian or a trans gay. Most people do not know that trans people are experiencing gender dysphoria whereas homosexuality is based on sexual orientation. The film follows Su, a trans lesbian researcher, to meet other trans people and investigates the trans people in the 70s and 80s with a warm perspective. Though the hatred toward LGBT people gets stronger in society, Su never gives up and tries her best to find the hidden stories of trans people in Korea. We hope this film can contribute to spark a conversation about diversity and open a discussion about hospitality and love.

	KIM, a human rights activist, director, and producer, is active in yPINKS:Solidarity for Sexually Minor Cultures and Human Rights, a filmmaker-based association and production company. She has directed and produced various works based on a feminist perspective. The Two Doors (2011), attracted more than 70,000 audiences in only 18 theaters, creating a sensation as a social phenomenon. She directed a sequel, The Remnant (2018) and is currently directing a feature documentary, Edhi and Alice, a film about two trans women.		She studied Fine Arts and Social Sciences at university. She has produced mainly feature documentaries, mostly about conflict, war, trauma, and women. Her recent films screened and received awards in the festivals such as Sundance Intl. Film Festival, Hot Docs, Intl. Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and Busan Intl. Film Festival. She is also actively co-producing with other Asian filmmakers.
Director  KIM Il-rhan		Producer  JO Sona